Disclaimer: CCS =/= Mine. k?

Note: Timeline (spoilers). Branch off from after Ep 69, where Sakura defeats Eriol. Syaoran never told her, he never left, Eriol never left, and everyone's in High school now, kk?

*~*~*~*~*

Sakura was standing under a Cherry Blossom tree in full blossom, and facing her was one Li Syaoran. The petals were falling around them onto the lush green grass. It seemed that they were the only ones in the area, because all Sakura could see was miles and miles of empty grassland, and the Cherry Blossom tree that they were standing under was the only one she could find.

Syaoran placed his hands on her shoulders, and leaned closer...

She could feel his breath on her face, his touch was so soft. She closed her eyes expectantly.

"Sakura... I have something to tell you... I...." He whispered. "I..."

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!* went Sakura's alarm clock, making the sleeping Sakura jolt into conciousness. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes.

'It was just a dream... Oh, how nice it would have been if it was real...' She thought to herself, sighing in disappointment that it had only been a dream, a fantasy.

It was then Kero decided to make a move. "Hey, Sakura, dreaming about the brat again?" His was promptly met by a pillow thrown by the mistress of the cards.

"He is not a brat!" Responded Sakura indignantly. "He's... a wonderful person! And you..."

"Are going to be late if you don't hurry. School starts in 15 minutes!" Finished Kero.

"HOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Misunderstood
~By Mana Lugia

Li Syaoran sat in his seat, not paying the least amount of attention to what the teacher was talking about. He was staring at the back of an emerald-eyed beauty, one who was, in his mind, the epitome of perfection. His eyes stared hard at her auburn hair, his mind lost in thought, when a piece of paper folded like a crane "magically" appeared on his desk.

He growled. He knew who it was from without even reading it. Opening up the note, his guess was confirmed.

"My dear descendant, you weren't paying atttention in class again. Could it be because of a certain person who sits in front of you that you were staring at so intently?"

Grabbing a piece of his own paper, he quickly scribbled some words and sent it to the right.

"None of your business, Hiiragizawa. And stop calling me your descendant!"

The teen for whom the note was for grinned evilly behind his glasses. Picking up his pen, he scribbled another note and used his magic to deliver it to the desk of the one to his right.

The teen with the messy brown hair groaned again when he saw that his friend would not let up. Taking another break from his staring, he opened the piece of paper, this time folded like a flower.

"I see I hit the nail right on the head, my cute descendant. But perhaps you should focus on the lesson instead of your lovely cherry blossom."

'Damn that Hiiragizawa,' He thought to himself. The reincarnation of Clow Reed always seemed to hide evil thoughts behind that innocent mask of a smile. And the worst part is, that smile always gets on Syaoran's nerves. Picking up his pen again, Syaoran scribbled another note, this time with such force that he almost tore the paper.

Eriol Hiiragizawa smiled. He had successfully pissed Li Syaoran off, which means he had accomplished his mission, at least for this period. Opening up the paper that Syaoran had sent back, his smile widened.

"I DO NOT need you to tell me what to do, Hiiragizawa. Now leave me alone!!!!"

'My poor hot-headed descendant. He's really fallen head over heels for that girl,' Thought Eriol, amused. Sneaking a peek, he saw that Syaoran had returned to his admiring of the back of Sakura's head. 'This will be fun...' He thought as he knocked his pencil case to the ground, and the clanging sound brought the class to a halt. Syaoran didn't seem to notice the noise, but the teacher certainly did.

"Mr. Hiiragizawa, is there a problem?" The teacher, annoyed by the sudden interruption in the otherwise quiet class, asked.

"No sir, I'm sorry," Eriol flashed an innocent look at the teacher and proceeded to pick up his fallen utensils.

The teacher took the chance to look across the room, his eyes landing on one brown-haired boy in particular. "Mr. Li. Once you are done admiring the back of Miss Kinomoto, shall we get on with the lesson?"

"Wha- Huh?" Syaoran woke up from his trance, confused. Upon processing what the teacher said, his face blushed beet red, as he managed to mutter an apology. What he did not know was that in front of him, Sakura Kinomoto's face was equally red.

'Was he staring at me? No, that can't be it... Maybe he's thinking about the girl he loves, Meilin. Wait a minute, didn't Meilin tell me in her last letter that the engagement was off because Syaoran loved someone else? Could it- Nah... But I wonder who she is...' Thought Sakura, as many different thoughts ran through her head. 'Maybe he was looking at Tomoyo...'Sneaking a peek towards her best friend, she saw that Tomoyo was taking notes, oblivious to what was going on at the moment.

The teacher cleared his throat, the lesson was over for the day. "Now, as you all remember, the annual cultural festival is coming up in a month, and we need to decide as a class on what to do. First, we're going to take nominations, so, any ideas?" He asked the class.

"A tea house!" Shouted someone from the other side of the class. "An art exhibition!" Yelled another. "A haunted house!" Shouted a third. Sakura stiffened. She couldn't imagine herself helping in a haunted house without screaming her head off. Suddenly, she felt someone tap her shoulder, and then a note was left on her shoulder. She took the note and opened it.

"Wow, you're in high school and you're still afraid of ghosts? Sheesh. Well, don't worry, if anything, Tomoyo, Hiiragizawa and I will be around, so you have nothing to be afraid."

Sakura read the note and smiled. Syaoran could be such a nice person sometimes, despite the cold front he puts up. That's another reason that made her fall for him, not that she was brave enough to admit it. She scribbled a thank you note quickly and passed it back. Behind her, she could swear she felt Syaoran smile. 'Hanyaaan...'

Quite a few more suggestions were shouted out from around the class. "A fashion show!" shouted one enthusiastic amythest-eyed girl, who happened to sit right next to Sakura. Sakura giggled. That was just like Tomoyo to say such a thing. She quickly wrote a note, and placed it on Tomoyo's desk.

"Does this mean I have to wear the costume?" Tomoyo didn't take very long to send back a reply, which confirmed Sakura's fear.

"Of course! To be able to film you in as many dresses designed by me as possible, that is the epitome of my happiness!"

The reply, of course, brought a sweatdrop to Sakura's head. In front of them, Yamazaki suddenly called out "A suama feast!" This, of course, made half the class sweatdrop. Chiharu gave him a quick smack on the back of the head. "We're deciding a cultural event, not what makes you happy, baka!"

To this, Yamazaki whispered something into Chiharu's ear, which promptly turned Chiharu red, and playfully punched his arm. "Sweet talker!" She said playfully.

"Hai, hai. Instead of the Suama feast... How about a cultural food exhibition?" He suggested to the teacher instead, who noted it on the board.

"Alright, class, now that we have the nominations, write down the top 3 things you want on a piece of paper and hand it in!" He announced. The class settled down, and everyone started thinking about what they wanted.

Sakura bit on her pen, not quite sure what she wanted. Behind her, Syaoran already decided on what to choose. 'A cultural cooking exhibition, eh? I'll be able to wow them with my Chinese food! I wonder if Sakura would like them...' With this thought, he blushed furiously, trying to drive the thoughts of his object of affection out of his mind.

Tomoyo finished her ballot quickly, as did Eriol, who, unknownst to the others, had slipped a bit of magic into his. As he went up to submit the ballot, he smirked. 'This will be doubly fun, my cute yet shy descendant...'

The teacher took another 10 minutes to tally up the votes, and his face had a shocked expression on it. "Well, class, it looks like we have a tie! With 14 votes each, both the Cooking Exhibition and the Fashion show are possibilities! What shall we do?"

Eriol raised his hand immediately. "Yes, Mr. Hiiragizawa?"

"Well, how about we divide the class into groups and each group has to come up with a clothing design for the fashion show and an ethical dish at the same time, so we can have a fashion show accompanied by food, like a dinner theatre?" He suggested.

The class murmured in excitement. "That's a great idea! Any objections?" Asked their teacher. Upon hearing no objections, he declared, "Well, that's settled! I'd like you to form in groups of 3 to 4, and, for variety, each of you sign up for a culture that you would be cooking food for by the end of the day. You should bring enough food for the day, and at least 2 dishes from the culture!" More murmurs were heard through the class as the kids decided on their groups.

Tomoyo turned around to the guys. "Hey, how about us four be a group? Me and Eriol can design the clothing, and Sakura and Syaoran can do the cooking part! I know, since Syaoran's Chinese, let's go with Chinese cooking! And best of all, I can get Sakura to wear more of my clothing!" She squealed delightfully, her eyes filled with stars. Upon hearing the mention of Sakura's name, Syaoran turned a light red.

'That's odd, Syaoran blushed when Tomoyo turned towards the boys...' Sakura thought quizzically. Her thoughts were broken as Tomoyo turned to ask for her approval, to which she nodded. 'This'd be so fun!' She thought excitedly, especially at the prospect of working with Syaoran on the foods.

"Great, then I'll just go up to report it!" Tomoyo exclaimed as she dashed towards the front of the class. Eriol grinned at Syaoran, who replied with a scowl on his face.

After Tomoyo returned, the group discussed what kind of clothing they would be making, and the foods involved. However, it ended up with Tomoyo making all the suggestions. Syaoran sighed. 'Sakura would look great in anything...' He thought to himself. Tomoyo saw him staring off into space again, and pulled him aside.

"Hey, Syaoran, guess what?" She whispered.

"What?"

"I'm making Sakura's costume!" She whispered again, this time even more excited.

"Yeah, I know... So?" Syaoran replied, unsure of where the conversation is going.

"Well, I know you love Sakura... So, any request on her costume?" Tomoyo asked, an evil look in her eye.

Syaoran turned seven different shades of red. "Err, um, that is... Why would I have any requests?"

Tomoyo pressed on. "Oh, come on, Syaoran! I know you'd like to see Sakura in some kind of costumes better than the others! What would you like? I can make it happen for you!"

Syaoran quickly shook his head. "N-No, I have nothing to say to you."

"Are you sure?" Tomoyo asked again in a sly voice. "You know... I can make Sakura's skirt reeeeeally short... If you thought our uniform's skirts were short... Wait till you see her in-"

Unable to handle the blood rushing to his head at the mention of Sakura in a really short skirt, Syaoran's eyes saw only darkness swirling around, as he promptly blacked out. Eriol, who had heard the whole conversation using his magic, shook his head. 'My young descendant, you're the head of the most powerful clan in China. You can summon the gods of fire, water, and wind. You can face the most powerful opponent and not flinch, and yet you faint at the mention of Sakura in a short skirt? You really need to work on that shyness of yours.' Meanwhile, a clueless Sakura ran to Syaoran's fallen body, unsure of what Tomoyo had said to make Syaoran faint like that. Tomoyo, meanwhile, silently giggled with amusement at how easily she was able to make Syaoran black out.

*~*~*~*~*

"Ugh... My head..." Syaoran groaned as he woke up. Looking around, he found the class empty except for Tomoyo, Eriol, and Sakura. Confused, he looked at the clock, and realized class ended almost 10 minutes ago. "What happened?" He asked.

Tomoyo giggled again. "You fainted, baka, after I mentioned..." She trailed off, letting Syaoran complete the sentence himself.

'Oh yeah! She was talking about Sakura in a short skir-' He was unable to finish the thought as he blacked out once again, sending Sakura into hysterics.

"TOMOYO! What did you say to make him faint so many times?" She screamed. Tomoyo laughed.

"That's for Me to know and You to find out, Sakura!" She replied mysteriously. Then, grabbing on to Eriol's shoulder, she declared, "Well, Eriol and I are going to go home and get started on your costume. Meanwhile, you can look after your prince until he wakes up!" She winked, causing Sakura to, again, turn red. Tomoyo and Eriol quickly picked up their stuff and left the class, leaving behind an unconcious Syaoran on the ground and a red Sakura knelt beside him.

Syaoran stirred again, and slowly opened his eyes, in time to see the worried face of Sakura looking down at him. "Angelic..." He muttered.

'Did he just... Nah, I was probably imagining it,' Sakura thought to herself. "Hey, are you feeling better now?" She asked.

Syaoran sat up. "Yeah, I'm better now. Sorry about making you stay after school for this long... Sheesh, how long was I out?" He asked, rubbing his groggy head.

"Around half an hour after class ended, I think. Tomoyo and Eriol left earlier... I just know they're up to something. Well, now that you're awake, shall we leave?" She replied.

Syaoran nodded. The two picked up their bags, and headed out the door.

*~*~*~*~*

Two weeks has since passed, with Tomoyo having finished various designs for Sakura, but neither Sakura nor Syaoran had thought about the food items they were going to make.

"Hey, Syaoran, since there's nothing going on today, wanna set down the recipes we're going to use?"

"Sure, I guess," He replied carelessly, trying not to look like he was overly happy with spending more time with Sakura.

"Great! We can go to my house then! Otou-san just shopped yesterday, so if we're lucky, we can even do some practicing!" Sakura said happily. Syaoran merely nodded again. "And the best part is, I'm in charge of dinner tonight anyways, so I can make Oniichan eat the creations, so we don't have to worry about the recipes being really bad!" She laughed evily.

"Wow, now there's a side of you I don't see too often!" He joked. "Sakura with an evil side? That's pretty scary!" He laughed. The two continued to laugh and chat until they got to Sakura's house.

Syaoran had a funny feeling that they were being followed the whole way till they reached Sakura's house, but shrugged it off as just being his imagination. They went up to Sakura's room first, where they discussed what Chinese dishes they each knew how to make. Behind them, a certain dark-haired videographer named Tomoyo was extremely disappointed that she couldn't film the rest of the kawaiiness that would occur between the two. However, her frustration was soon forgotten as her partner, the reincarnation of Clow Reed, placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, and soon both were lost in their moment of ecstasy.

"Hoee.... I don't know how to make anything but rice..." Sakura groaned as she sat on her bed, frustrated. "What're you grinning about?" She asked the grinning Syaoran, who was sitting on her chair.

"You forgetting that I can cook Chinese food very well? I can always teach you if you want..." Syaoran offered.

"You will? That's great! Let's go check what things we have in the fridge, Master Chef Syaoran!" She got up and ran downstairs, with Syaoran right behind her.

Sakura waited as Syaoran scoured the fridge, looking for the ingredients he needed. "Wow, you really do have everything in here!" He exclaimed as he finally pulled his head out of the fridge. "Well, I'm thinking we should just stick to the basics, Stir fry and fried rice!"

"That doesn't sound that difficult!" Sakura exclaimed, excited that she was going to get cooking lessons from her secret love.

Syaoran shook his index finger at her. "Now now, the cooking process is a lot harder that it sounds, impatient one," He used a deep voice, pretending that he was one of the clan elders at home trying to teach the young students. Sakura laughed, and mockingly bowed to her *Master*.

"Hey, that's odd..." Syaoran noted. "What happened to the plush toy? He's always around when food's mentioned!"

"Oh, Kero's over at Eriol's again, playing with Suppi. Apparently Eriol's house has better sweets too," She laughed.

"Well, that explains everything. Shall we begin?" Asked Syaoran courteously, putting on an apron.

"Let's shall," replied Sakura, as she put on her apron.

The cooking session ended just over an hour later, with Syaoran declaring triumphantly, "There, now all we need to do is let it simmer for a bit!"

"Wow, I sure learned a lot, Master Chef Syaoran!" Sakura thanked him. "Oh yeah, I have to do something for Tomoyo in my room, I'll be back in a bit, ok?" She asked, and ran upstairs.

That left Syaoran alone in the kitchen, so he decided to grab a seat by the table. While waiting for the food to simmer, his eyes glanced around the room. 'Wow, that picture must be Sakura's mother. Now I see where she gets her beauty from...'

*Ding* went the timer, as Syaoran lept up and quickly turned off the fire. Scooping the stir fry onto a large plate, he admired his handiwork. However, Sakura still wasn't down, so he went upstairs to inform her that the food was ready.

"Hey, Sakura, the food-" He said excitedly as he opened the door of Sakura's room... and stopped. There was Sakura, her back facing him, changing into a dress that Tomoyo had brought in this morning. Luckily, she was almost done, but her back was still left unzipped up, showing off her bare back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Syaoran's yelling made Sakura turn around.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

===============================================================

To Be Continued.

Oy, how was it? That wasn't too bad, or at least, I hope it wasn't. If you have the time, reviewing it with your comments/thoughts would be nice ^^. But no flames plz :D. Don't worry, only 1 chapter left! =D

~ M.

Dictionary:

Baka - Dummy/idiot
Otou-san - Father
Oniichan - Brother